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Throwback Thursday: The Good Goodbye by Carla Buckley

Throwback Thursday is a meme created by Renee at It’s Book Talk to share old favorite books rather than just the new shiny ones. This is a great idea to bring back to life some much-loved books. Please feel free to join in.

My choice for this week is:

The Good Goodbye by Carla Buckley

Published January 12, 2016 by Bantam

Goodreads Description:

Two cousins, Rory and Arden, lie unconscious in a hospital burn unit. The fire, which broke out in their shared college dorm room, killed another student, and the police want answers. Tension between Rory and Arden’s parents was already at an all-time high before the fire, owing to a recent financial crisis and the decline of the family business. As the parents huddle anxiously in the waiting room, carefully avoiding the subject of their own unraveling relationships, disturbing truths come to light. This is the deeply moving story of a family’s struggle to hold together while their secrets threaten to tear them apart.

My Thoughts:

“The good thing about saying goodbye is getting to say hello.”

“The Good Goodbye” was a unique and addictive read that I really enjoyed.

Rory and Arden Falcone are cousins who are very close. However, their personalities and interests are very different. Arden struggles to fit in while Rory makes friends easily.

The book starts with Arden’s mother wondering why Arden has not returned her phone call. Just as Natalie and her husband are heading out for dinner her phone finally rings….but it’s not Arden.

It’s a man who tells her that Arden has been in an accident. Rory and Arden have both been admitted to the hospital. They are unconscious after jumping out the window after a fire started in their college dorm room.

The story is told from Arden, Rory, and Arden’s mother, Natalie’s point of view. It alternates between past and present.

As everyone waits together in the ER, secrets old and new come to light. We learn more about what went on in the days leading up to the fire. Everyone struggles with difficult decisions that need to be made.

Will the girls survive? And if they do, how will this family repair itself?

I was pulled into the story right away. I could feel the tension as more disturbing truths came out, and my heart broke as the family tried to deal with blow after blow. It kept me in its grasp until the very end.

“The Good Goodbye” was an excellent domestic suspense novel that I would love to read again sometime.

Great review, and sounds like a well-written book. I usually don’t think multiple perspectives AND different timelines can be executed very well, especially when it is a mystery novel. However from your review it seems like the author was able to pull it off really well!